The Dark-Dream Pony

by thesilentpony

Chapter 7

I stopped at the mouth of the cave and looked out stopping seeing a at least three hundred bit high mountain around a thousand and a half bits out. My face must have gone pale as I ran over to the Flim, Flam brother’s contraption hopping on. They looked at me in a dizzy.

“We need to get out of here now!” I said.

“Whatever is it?” Flam asked and I pointed.

“A mountain, wait was that there before?” Flim asked.

“No that is a mother mountain spider, I saw a bolder hatchling around here earlier but I didn’t think the mother was active at night!”

“My bother Flim I dearly bet we are in a dizzy, shall we start the engine?”

“Yes my brother.” They shot at the two polls and started controlling it making the engines roar and the mountain spider stood up making a wind like no other sweep over the mountain side nearly toppling over their contraption, expect for I grabbed Flim going to the other side and making it balance out landing flat.

“FULL SPEED!” I shouted and the contraption went at a full gallop easily shocking me a little and making me hold on tightly throwing Flim back onto his seat next to his brother. I jumped onto the back and the spider’s long legs spread out.

It started moving slowly, but it was huge steps, easily fifty bits with each step out pacing us by twenty bits a second.

“Dear bother I do believe it will catch us at this pace.” Flam said.

“I believe you are right, full power might do the trick I believe.” They zapped the pipes and we speed up considerably going maybe one bit faster than the mountain spider staying at maybe five bits ahead. We hadn’t started going fast enough soon enough.

“TURN LEFT!” I shouted and the contraption turned dodging the massive spiked leg of the mountain spider. Hatchlings jumped off and I kicked them as they tried to get on, magic being useless against them, or at least not without using a lot of it.

“AAAA!” Flam shouted making me turn around and fire a bolt without second look knocking the leg of a hatchling enough to making it slip falling off to be crushed by the mountain spider’s next step.

“RIGHT!” They turned right and we went for nearly a half a day before coming into sight of the Ghastly Gorge river.

“How are we going to cross?!” Flim asked shouting.

“We just have to reach it!” I shouted back punching a hatchling. “The mountain spider won’t cross the river plains, it’s much too heavy to try! And the hatchling’s won’t dare try without their mother!” I bucked a hatchling off. “NOW RIGHT!” He turned right dodging the leg again, but just barely this time, we had lost speed.

“Brother I do believe I’m tired.” Flam said passing out cold. I looked at them and paused, fear spread across my heart. They had been using magic to propel us, even the best soldier would have been tired long ago.

“We won’t make it!” Flim shouted.

“Oh yes we will, HOLD ON!” I blasted the pipes and a bolder hatchling bit me on my left arm having just barely long enough teeth. I bucked it sending it flying as we sped up so much I had to hold on myself.

“Oh no!” Flim shouted as we were about to reach the river bed.

“Don’t worry!” I made an invisible road and we drove over the water. The mountain spider stopped a ways back and howled a bone crushing howl making me shiver a little bit. We made it to the other side and I fell down as the contraption rolled to a stop on the grass of the other side.

“We made it!” He cheered stomping around.

“Yeah.” I coughed up blood and he ran over to me.

“Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine, I just got bit.”

“Isn’t that bad?”

“Well they aren’t known for being poisonous, but it isn’t the poison I need to worry about, they don’t wash their mouths, a single bit will get infected and then that will infect my entire system. I was lucky I only got bit on the arm.” I pulled off my hoof guard.

His eyes went big as I cut off my lower left arm at the joint throwing it onto the ground next to the contraption. It started to boil melting a minute or two later into a red jello of sorts. He took off his blue bow tie tying my arm tightly. I zapped it stopping me from bleeding out.

“Are you alright?”

“I will be, I’ll regrow the limb once we reach a town and let my body normalize before adding it.”

“You can regrow limbs?”

“Not normally, no, but I have this.” I pulled out a clear stone. “This is a growth stone, it can regrow legs, or say if you lost a large chunk of your body, or even an organ or two. This could grow you a new one in a day or two. Of course that means the part can’t be that important and you have to be able to live a few days without it.”

“Whoa.”

“I grabbed six thinking I would need them, it isn’t that odd to lose a leg or two, and I would have normally had more than one person so.”

“Gotcha.”

“How’s your brother?”

“Just tired from using so much magic. We’ve never used so much magic before, you were amazing.

“Yeah well my magic isn’t good to use, it slowly kills me so don’t be jealous or anything.”

“Are you going to live?”

“Yes, I would have to use plenty more than that to kill me, but I will have shaved a few weeks off.”

“Oh dear.”

“Anyway, we should get moving, plenty of creatures will have heard that and some will cross for a meal.”

“Of course, but I don’t have the power to go fast.”

“Just a few hundred bits will be good enough, and I'll help you.” I got up and he stabilized me as we went to the front sitting down. He zapped the pipes with me making the contraption start moving again.

“Would you care for some apple cider?”

“I would love some.” He poured a glass and handed it to me, then pouring a glass for himself sitting down next to me. I drink some and it was pretty good.

“Oh I should explain who we are, we are the Flim Flam brother, we make apple cider and sell to towns.”

“Sounds great.”

“And who are you, I hope you don’t live in that place.”

“I used to, I was born not far from that mountain, my parents were blacksmiths and that area has great resources, but it also has natural defenses so it’s dangerous. I only went back because I needed to get material to fix my armor.”

“Are you a guard or perhaps a peace keeper? I noticed your armor before but I wasn’t sure.”

“Not far, I’m the caption of the night guard in Canterlot.” His eyes went wide.

“Really, it’s a pleasure to be sharing my brew with you then.” I smiled.

“It is very good cider, nothing like it in Canterlot.”

“Aalst, there are no apple fields in Canterlot, or are there, I have only traveled there once but I did not see any as a filly.”

“Well sadly no there aren’t, but if you came with barrels I’m sure there would be plenty of stores wanting to buy it.”

“That sounds like a plan.” I smiled.

“Also thank you for the bowtie, I fear I won’t be able to get blood stain out.”

“Oh that’s quite alright.” He pulled out a black one putting it on. “My brother has a few spares, you quite possibly saved our lives, had you not come along.” I chuckled a little.

“Not only that but had I left you that mountain spider would have found you. They could smell your cider from thousands of bits away, in fact that’s what made me notice you in the first place, it would have found you had I had I not had you drive me. You wouldn’t have had the power, also you probably didn’t notice it creeping up on you.”

“You’re right, we didn’t notice, the beast was silent, and had you not pointed us in the right direction we would have turned back toward the beast anyway. So we owe you our lives twice my friend.”

“You saved my backpack’s life though, had you not been there, I would have had to teleport leaving it behind.”

“You can teleport?”

“Yes, and if things had gotten too bad back there I would have, but we were managing after the first ten thousand bits so I saw no need, and I couldn’t risk my pack. If my armor is not fixed I imagine Luna will not be pleased with me.”

“You know Princess Luna?”

“Very well, I’m her personal guard, I meet Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance quite often as well.”

“By golly it must be something, I saw her raising the sun while I was but a filly.” I smiled.

“I’ve seen it quite a few times myself, it is truly something.”

“Yes it is.” He smiled looking into his cider. “But back to first subject, are we headed in the right direction? The right wheel is a little uneven so we tend to go left too much and even up turned around back there, that’s why we got lost, and we do not know in what direction the moon set in.”

“It’s southeast to south west this time of the year, then in spring and autumn it is the same as the sun, for the summer it is northeast to northwest.”

“I dare say I will remember that.”

“Good.”

“How is the leg?”

“Fine, I’ve had worse, much worse, but I’m fine.”

“I’m glad.” Flam woke up a while later and we kept going. A few days passed before we reached Apple Loosa.

“I dare say it was an honor my kind friend.” Flam said as I got off limping.

“It was for me as well.”

“We must be on our way,” Flim said. “But if you ever feel a bit of an urgent need for cider, I’m sure we won’t be far, if this place does not turn well we will head north to Dodge city, then Ponyville and then Filly Delphia.”

“All keep that in mind.” I waved as they drove off. I went over to the local inn and the caretaker looked at me surprised.

“A room for the rest of the day and tomorrow.”

“That will be ten bits.” I limped over to him and a pouch appeared. I took out some setting them down. He handed me a key and I went to my room laying down on my bed. I was tired out of my mind, while I had the chance to sleep on the ride here, but the wild holds many dangers, and I couldn’t sleep on a contraption that would bounce with every rock. I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

“SHADOW!” Luna’s voice growled shaking me awake in a fright looking around. While my dreams were darkness, that still didn’t mean they weren’t dreams. I shook a little now scared out of my mind. I had forgotten to tell Luna I was leaving for a while. She was going to have my head once I got back, and I needed a leg to run on when that happen.

I opened my bag pulling out a stone and eating it coughing at the horrid rainbow taste, it wasn’t pleasant tasting, that was for sure. I ate the rest of it going to the shower room and taking a nice shower washing the sand out of my fur and mane. I fixed the armor buffing out scratches making it shine a little.

Sitting in a shower as a limb regrows is never pleasant no matter who tells you, it is painful and bloody. Taking nearly two days to completely regrow the limb. I got up on the last day putting back on my hoof guard on my new hoof fitting a bit loose from the lack of extra skin fat, I just didn’t have fat to spare.

I got onto a train pausing seeing Applejack get off of it looking a bit down. I got onto my train quickly, I couldn’t waste a second to help her. The train took me back to Canterlot and I went to the blacksmith.

“Hey!” The blacksmith hollered.”

“Hey.” I walked over to her and set the onyx coal down and her eyes went wide. “I believe this should be enough.”

“More than, how, this place must have a lot of ore of all kinds.”

“Very, but anyway, is that enough?”

“Yeah I could make you three more sets free of charge with this much.” I smiled. “I mean would you like me to?”

“Sure, make me one for the desert like this one, then a second one for the forest, and the last one for the ocean if you could.”

“Alright.”

“Oh I have some more metal for you.” I set down other piece of rocks, a red stone chunk, a blue one and a green one. “Red is for fire, blue for water and the green is for earth. There is enough for the armor, add the red to the desert or earth one, then green for the forest and the blue to the water.”

“I’ve never seen metal like this.”

“I know, it’s augment metal, you’ll be able to keep half of it to make another armor for you to sell.”

“Cool.” I pulled out the growth stones.

“Then add half of one of these to the helmet and then the rest of them one per armor set, half in the helmet and one in the body. Also can you make my shin guards?”

“Sure, I'll have plenty for all that and more.” I pulled out a sixty thousand bit chunk of gold out of a portal setting it on the table, making her eyes pop and her jaw drop.

“Gold lining and whatnot, also in case you need to buy anything, I’m sure you can melt it down and everything.”

“I can, thank you.” I started to take off my armor. “You can keep that or if you like I have a black set in the back till I have your armor ready.”

“Oh sure.” I exchanged the armor. It was the same basic form but just black.

“I'll have your first armor ready in a week, then the rest will be about three weeks, I'll make it my master pieces.”

“Thanks.” I turned walking out of the store and onto the street. I went to the castle and stopped as it turned to night. She without a doubt was going to be awake, and if she killed me so be it. I snuck in too afraid of giving Luna warning of my coming.

I went into the castle looking around for any guard and there wasn’t a single pony, which was a blessing but it was also bad, the fact we had a single gap in our security was beyond angering.

“Please sister I must go find him.” I turned around being now face to face with Princess Celestia and Luna frozen shocked to see me. No one moved for a moment, Luna’s face went from shock to pure rage making me run. “SHADOW!” She yelled echoing through the hallways making me run faster whimpering a little. I turned a wrong corner bouncing off the wall, but this time going at only normal speed, I got up and turned but Luna landed frowning.

“Now let me explain.” I said quickly.

“Do you realize how angry I am right now?” I whimpered as she came up to me making me press against the wall.

“Please don’t kill me.” I begged.

“Kill you, oh how I would love to.” She kissed me.

“Thank the heaven’s your alright,” she said nuzzling me. “I was just talking to my sister about sending out a party to find you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No note, not a word, I thought you had abandoned me!” She shouted at me making me scared again.

“I had to go pick up supplies for my armor and it took much longer than I realized it would.”

“You could have sent me a letter!”

“Please don’t kill me.”

“I’m not going to kill you, but you’ll be lucky if you see the outside of my bedchamber for the next year for this!” I whimpered.

“But I have to pick up my armor in a week.” She narrowed her eyes. “Please.” She sighed quelling her rage.

“Fine, but do you have any idea how worried sick I was?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, just don’t do that again, you really scared me.” I kissed her.

“As if I would ever leave you.” I smiled and she smile. I followed her to the dining room and she started to eat.

“Shadow have you eaten?” She asked as I slid her chair forward.

“Ah, no I haven’t for a few days.”

“Few days?! Sit down now, Night Jasper, please go have the chef prepare double the food for me.” He nodded going into the kitchen. “I said sit.” I said now a little nervous sitting down next to her. Whenever she got like this it was painful on my part. You simply did not want to be on the end of her fury for any reason.

“You know I love you right?” She said say anything. “Right?” I said in a slightly high pitched voice. Luna could scare me in the wrong mood just by a single look and her not talking to me was bad. I was either going to get a fork to an eye or in the throat, and it wasn’t going to be pretty for me.

“Food.” Night Jasper said bringing it out to us and Onyx took it off his severing trays on his back. I went to pick up a fork but her magic whipped mine with a snap making me drop the fork.

“Did I say you are to feed yourself.”

“I hope.”

“Open.” She cut a carrot and put a fork into it. I opened my mouth and she slid the butter softened piece into my mouth. “You can close your mouth.” I did eating it. It was really good, I normally just had the normal guard food which was anything but class. “How do you like it?”

“It’s really good.” I said with tears running down my face.

“Why are you crying?”

“Because I know you’re going to hurt me, and I don’t know when.”

“My love, I would never simply hurt you,” she said taking a drink of something. She wasn’t lying, she it wouldn’t be a simple pain, it would be a complex one. “That would be too easy.” I whimpered. She feed me and with every bite it felt more and more like my last meal making me savor every bite. We finished and it ended too quickly.

“Where-where to now?” I asked and she eyed me.

“I haven’t taken my bath today.” She said with a grin and I shirked back a little making her grin more. She pulled out our chairs and lifted me with magic setting me on her back so I couldn’t run away.

While I knew something bad was going to happen, but I still loved her beyond words. I sniffed her and she paused blushing a little clearly hearing me. Yeah she still smelled better than anything I could ever smell.

She took me to the bath and closed the doors to the royal bath behind her. She set me down with her magic almost instantly undoing my armor making it fall to the ground. She smiled at me and I kissed her.

“I love you,” I said smiling a little. “And even though I am scared and deserve anything you give me, I want you to know that.” She smiled.

“Come on.” We went to the hot tub and got inside it. She nuzzled me and we started to make out. We went for nearly an hour, doing things I would consider not something I want to even try to describe for sake of lost of limb, if ever spoken of.

We went to the dream chamber and I stayed close to her side not wanting to go more than a few inches from her making her smile feeling my snout on her neck breathing in her scent. She was truly delicious smelling. I hadn’t forgotten the smell, but after a few days I now craved it like nothing else.

“Move a that tickles.” She said giggling a little and I licked her making her look at me.

“Sorry.” I said smiling and she kissed me.

“I can barely think with you there, why are you so intoxicating?”

“I should ask you the same.” She chuckled.

“Are we too attached to each other? I cannot do my job because I think of nothing but you all night and dream.”

“My job is to be attached to you, so I’m not the one with the problem.” I said grinning and making her roll her eyes.

“Well I couldn’t very well do this while we, were privet.” I blushed at the thought. “I mean we could end up appearing in some ponies dreams.” I laughed at the thought of doing that to some pony.

“Best we not.”

“Then, um, stay still.” I held up a comb and she smiled. “Oh I love how you think.” I started to brush her hair humming the melody of the pond trapper. She smiled weaving to the melody. She had probably given up after a few minutes of me brushing her and humming to her with such a sweet melody, but she probably acted, or was projecting love notions into everyone’s dreams till we had to go.

“Did that feel good?”

“I love you so much it hurts.” I smiled.

“Now you know how I’ve felt since we met.” She looked at me a little surprised.

“Really?”

“At the time I thought it was impossible to be this close to you, it hurt so badly, but I was able to be your guard. After what happen with Princess Celestia and Cadance I thought I would lose you and wanted to die. Then something happen and I just wanted to die, but I realized later what a fool I was.”

“Never think for a moment taking your life would ever be the answer.”

“I know.”

“Now let go,” she said softly. “We will be late.” We got up and went to the celestial chamber and Princess Celestia was waiting for us with a smile.

“How was the night, my dearest sister Luna?” She asked and Luna blushed a wonderful purple.

“Great sister.” She lowered the moon as Princess Celestia lifted the sun.

“Well I have much to do today, it is heart’s and hooves day after all.” Luna looked at me smiling.

“To my bed chamber.”

“Um, is it possible we could sleep? I haven’t slept for a, like week.”

“I am tired as well.” We went back to her bed chamber having me undress from my armor. A magic fling sent me onto the bed sending a chain around my left ankle. “Are you comfortable?” She asked smiling. “You didn’t think I had forgotten did you?” It was close enough that if I tired I could slide it off, but that would be bad.

“No.”

“Good.” She got onto the bed pulling the sheet up with magic covering us, she wrapped her arms around me pulling me close to her warm body. I smiled when she smelled me. “You know you smell good.”

“I’m glad.” I turned around so we were face to face. We started at each other till we fell asleep.

“Shadow.” I looked around in the blackness of my dream. “Where are you?”

“Luna?” I asked.

“There you are.” She walked over to me.

“What are you doing here?” She had a confused look on her face. “You shouldn’t be here it’s not safe.”

“Your dreams cannot harm me.” I looked around.

“Dream?”

“Yes we are in your dream.”

“But the darkness doesn’t dream.”

“Darkness? What’s the darkness?”

“You must leave before it finds you, if this is my dream then you can be harmed by it, it will not spare you.” I started shaking. “Please leave before it comes for you.”

“What is the darkness?” Chains appeared tying me down, my struggling failed as they became tighter making me cough blood. “Shadow!” She ran over to me but was pushed back harshly.

“NO! Leave her alone!”

“Quiet you.” A voice said, it was flat, plain, not pony, whatever used the voice was not living, but it was not dead either.

“What are you, how are you able to attack me?”

“Oh, the princess wants to know does she?” The voice asked moving closer to her, she looked around unable to see it.

“Show yourself!” It chuckled.

“No run Luna! The darkness can harm you here, you must leave! You are not safe, please I don’t want you to get hurt, not because of me, not again.”

“Do not worry, I have power here.” She stomped her hooves and light filled the darkness, but only for a moment, showing a floating black cloud rolling through the air around us. I had never seen the darkness of my dream, normally it was just darkness, no voice, but here I seemed to know more than while awake.

“Oh light, how wondrous!” It said loudly as if enjoying it. “Oh how long it has been since I’ve seen the light, it truly tastes wonderful.”

“Who are you cloud?”

“Didn’t he tell you?”

“Run Luna this creature is not of our world! He can harm you here, it matters not that it is my dream, if we gets out he’ll kill everything!”

“He doesn’t want you to know, how cute.”

“RUN!” I shouted breaking chains standing up. “NOW!” I growled at her sending a wave of magic knocking her out of my dream.

“But I liked her shadow.” I fell to the floor shaking and breathing hard. “Come now, you can’t expect it to be just us here.”

“I will not allow you to escape into her mind monster, for not even I would allow Luna to enter your prison.”

“Why have you not told them of me?”

“You gain power with each person knowing your name, I would never dare give you such power.” A flat laugher all round me made me look around.

“You haven’t told them.” White viper teeth appeared in front of me. “You have not told them that it will be I whom blocks out the sun with sin, and burn the moon to dust?!” It laughed rolling the teeth around me.

“I will never allow you to that!”

“You have already failed!” It said with a very wide grin. “The second you let your heart shine so beautifully was the second I was released, there is no stopping it now.”

“NO!” I shouted waking up breathing hard. I looked at Luna in the corner shaking.

“Shadow, is that you?” She asked unsure.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t see and I can’t use my magic!” I ran over to her but the chain stopped me. I tried to unlock it with magic and it refused being made of anti-magic material.

“Having fun?” I turned to the darkness floating around in the room. “Or are you enjoying my work?”

“WHAT?!” My chain locked more stopping me from getting lose. “LET ME GO YOU DEMON!” I shouted. “Now or I will slay you where you stand.”

“Oh my, can’t remember?” It floated around me making me see my past. “How could you forget little mommy and daddy?” It asked showing it ripping them apart. “I love seeing those memories.”

“No.” Tears ran down my face as I remember.

“Loggen.” I whispered and the clouds moved away from me and the smile shank fitting the body of a white colt, glowing white smoking eyes, white flowing hair, a pair of white wings appeared on his sides as did a horn atop his head, and then a golden cutie mark of two swords clashing formed.

“Ah freedom at last!” he said making the room shake. “So much power! How is it this land has so much untapped power?” He looked at me frowning. “I see you’ve grown more powerful as well, and that it was not just I which have gained power.”

“I'll kill you this time, not lock you into my mind!”

“You do have the power this time, but that only means I will have to retreat. I will be back for my rightful place as ruler of this Equestria?” He paused and went to the window looking out. “This is not my birth land! How?” He growled at me.

“When I defeated you as a child my parents and I fled those land here where the sun alicorn was.”

“Ah, your memory serves me well. Your theft of my throne will not hinder me, I will conquer this land before I leave for our home lands, and I will leave none to spare. My thirst will never be quenched, but first.” He looked at me and threw a black onyx ring, I shot at it with my magic but it absorbed it going perfectly onto my horn as I turned my head, making me yell in pain as it contained my powers.

“Monster!”

“Did your parent’s, my children not do the same to me?!” He shouted at me. “No they locked me into my own inbred grandchild, a filth upon my crown!” He let out a breath as I withered in pain. “But all is not lost, my lands are still intact and I will control the sun and moon easily enough.” He laughed. “Did those three servants of mine fool you well? Or when you pricked this sun princess, did you feel bad? I couldn’t have been happier when I entered her body infecting her.”

“I will not allow you to do this!” I shouted.

“You hardly have a choice, it will take me some time to grow my power enough, but with the help of your sweet.” Luna floated over to him. “Luna.” He said with a grin. “I will gain all the power I need.”

“You will not be victorious!”

“You are mine, you do not have the right to speak.” She fell to the ground. “I will send you far away, so I am able to gain power while you desperately try to come back to save them all.” He laughed. “But for now.” He went into Luna’s horn making her blink looking at the ground. “I will be the mare of the moon.” She looked at me and I looked at her in horror.

“NO!”

“Good bye.” I blinked appearing high in sea clouds over an ocean. I started falling in the darkness of the night. I hit the water with a painful splash. I floated in the water unable to move, blood dampening the water around me.

I had no idea how long I floated, my body unwilling to move from the pain of the ring crown. It was the only object known to be able to completely stop a ponies powers and be unbreakable. For me the ring crown was a prison, since I lived on magic it crushed my very life force drowning me in pain and torment.